In a more practical, day-to-day sense, many couples have conflicts about what actually constitutes monogamy. In the face of this, some people continue to practice serial social monogamy (and sometimes sexual monogamy) while others are opting to have long-term committed non-monogamous relationships. So while there is tremendous societal pressure – especially from religious institutions – to practice sexual monogamy, it does not appear to be a natural human inclination. Additionally, infidelity is quite common in committed relationships, even if no off spring results from sex. One study of human paternity showed that 10% of children were not genetically related to the male partner in the pair.
However, social monogamy is more of reality in human society than is sexual monogamy. So are humans monogamous? The fact is we humans sometimes do make long-term commitments. When it comes to mammals, only 3-5% of species are socially monogamous. Birds, for example, who are thought of as some of the most socially monogamous species, still have a 13% likelihood their offspring is conceived through sex with a different male than the one they are paired with. Even in social monogamy most species are not sexually monogamous, engaging in the occasional infidelity. In scientific terms, monogamy refers to social monogamy and may last for a single season or, much more rarely, a lifetime. The question of whether we humans are truly monogamous is a difficult one to answer. Are humans monogamous, or is serial monogamy a practice more closely matched to our cave men instincts? Are Humans Monogamous?
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